Air New Zealand Announces New Chief Executive Officer

Air New Zealand has
appointed Christopher Luxon as its next Chief Executive
Officer.

Chairman John Palmer said today Mr Luxon will
take over from current Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfe at
the end of December.

Mr Luxon is presently Group
General Manager International Airline and has held the role
since joining Air New Zealand in May, 2011, following a
successful career at Unilever in North America, Asia and
Australia. His most recent role there was President and
Chief Executive Officer of Unilever’s Canadian
business.

Mr Palmer says Mr Luxon brings a wealth of
international business experience to Air New Zealand and an
exceptionally strong commercial and customer focus.

“Christopher has world class strategic, commercial,
leadership and stakeholder management capabilities proven
across multiple markets. These have been highly evident to
the Air New Zealand Board in the year that he has been with
the company and we have seen him affect positive commercial
outcomes in our toughest operating division,” Mr Palmer
says.

Mr Luxon says he feels exceptionally privileged
to be given the opportunity to lead the world’s best
airline and further build on its commercial success of the
past decade.

“Rob Fyfe has done an incredible job
transforming Air New Zealand and steering it through some of
the most difficult trading conditions in modern history. I
will take over an airline that has significant financial
strength, some incredibly exciting commercial opportunities
and 11,000 Air New Zealanders who are committed to being
world class in everything they do,” Mr Luxon says.

“Christopher thoroughly deserves
to lead Air New Zealand into the next chapter of its
history. He is a world class executive on every level and
will challenge Air New Zealanders to lift the airline’s
commercial and customer focus to an even higher level,” Mr
Fyfe says.

Mr Palmer says the Board is delighted that
it has been able to appoint an internal candidate to the
role of Chief Executive Officer.

“We conducted an
exhaustive international search for a new Chief Executive
Officer and it gives the Board great heart that the
succession process it had in place furnished strong internal
candidates leading to this appointment.”

Mr Palmer
says the Board and Mr Fyfe have in place a well planned
transition period over the next six months to ensure a
seamless transition. Mr Luxon will be able to use this time
to get close to the parts of the business outside his
current responsibilities and to access the key domestic and
international aviation, investor and stakeholder
relationships that are crucial to running a world class
airline.

Christopher Luxon
Background

Christopher Luxon joined Air New Zealand in May
2011 from Unilever where he was President and CEO of
Unilever Canada since December 2008. In this role he was
responsible for leading Unilever's US$1.4 billion business &
1,500 employees in Canada. Christopher led Unilever Canada
on a major change programme that resulted in record growth,
improved profitability and enhanced customer service.

In
addition to his Canadian responsibilities, Christopher was a
key member of the North American Leadership Team that
directed Unilever's US$10 billion regional business and he
also sat on Unilever's Americas Regional Operations
Leadership Team. During 2011 he also led Unilever's US$4
billion Personal Care business in the United
States.

Christopher was born in Christchurch in 1970 and
is the eldest of three boys. His father was a sales
executive for Johnson & Johnson and his mother a
psycho-therapist counsellor. At the age of seven Christopher
and his family moved to Auckland and settled in Howick. At
the age of 15 he returned to Christchurch and completed his
last years of High School before going on to attend
Canterbury University to complete a Master in Commerce
majoring in Business Administration. In his last year at
Canterbury University, Christopher was recruited into the
Unilever Management Trainee Program where recruits would
rotate in 6-12 month cycles around all parts of the
business.

His first management role with the company
was as Brand Manager of Unilever’s detergent business in
New Zealand. After two years Christopher relocated to
Australia and spent five years in Sydney, where he was
involved in various sales and marketing roles. In his last
three years Christopher also led one of Unilever’s Asian
Innovation Centres.

Christopher’s next career step
with Unilever was at their Global Head Office in London as
the Global Deodorants and Grooming Category Director for
three years. This then led Christopher and his family to
move to Chicago where he was Regional Category Vice
President Deodorants and Grooming North America and then
Toronto in his North America leadership roles.

Christopher joined Air New Zealand in May 2011 as Group
General Manager International Airline.

Air New Zealand's
International Airline carries approximately 1.6 million long
haul passengers annually, has annual revenue of
approximately $NZD 1.8 billion and employs more than 3,000
staff. The International Airline is the most significant
tourism business in New Zealand carrying a third of all
inbound visitors to New Zealand. Inbound visitors to New
Zealand collectively generate foreign exchange earnings of
$NZD 9.5 billion a year.

Mr Luxon is married to his wife
Amanda and they have two children – William aged 12 and
Olivia aged
10.

Rocket Lab has signed a Commercial Space Launch Act Agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The agreement enables Rocket Lab to use NASA resources - including personnel, facilities and equipment - for launch and reentry efforts. More>>

ALSO:

Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler says some market commentators are predicting further declines in interest rates that would only make sense for an economy in recession, although some easing is likely to be needed to maintain New Zealand’s economic growth. More>>

Legal advice sought by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council on the Ruataniwha Dam consent conditions has confirmed that farmers who sign up to take water from the dam could be required to reduce the intensity of their farming operation to meet the catchment’s strict nitrogen limit. More>>

Health and safety law reform sparked by the Pike River coalmine disaster has been reported back from the industrial relations select committee with weakened requirements on small businesses to appoint health and safety representatives and committees. More>>

The value of fruit exported rose 20 percent (up $330 million) for the June 2015 year when compared with the year ended June 2014. Both higher prices and a greater quantity of exports (up 9.0 percent) contributed to the overall rise. More>>